Failure to induce autoimmune disease with neonatal bursectomy in chickens

Abstract

To assess the effect of abnormal control of bursa-derived B cell function upon the development of spontaneous autoimmune disease, newly hatched chicks were surgically bursectomized or sham-bursectomized and studied up to 4 months of age. The presence of autoimmune disease was assessed by direct Coombs' test, measurement of antinuclear antibody, total hemoglobin, packed cell volume, plasma bilirubin, red cell survival, and immunofluorescence studies on frozen kidney sections. Despite abnormal immunoglobulin levels detected in bursectomized chickens, no significant differences in terms of autoimmune activity could be demonstrated between the two groups. This suggests that primary B cell control is an unlikely factor in the etiology of autoimmune disease and supports earlier studies which imply that a major factor leading to progressive autoimmune disease is the failure of a normal T cell suppression function.